The Grinch couldn’t stop Christmas from coming. Christmas was coming with or without his consent and with or without his participation. You know the story…the Grinch finally experienced Christmas when he had a change of heart. The same is true for us. We might experience family in December. We might ingest wonderful food. We might enjoy giving and receiving gifts. We might tune our radio stations to the ones playing the best “merry and bright” tunes, but we only experience Christmas when we experience Christ on a heart-level.
Every character in the Christmas story encountered God on a heart-level. They were moved in their hearts to respond to God-incarnate, to Emmanuel, God in flesh. Think about the message of John the Baptist, the cousin of Jesus, the one who came just ahead of Jesus. What was the reason for his birth? Luke 1:16-17 have this to say about John’s mission: 16 He will bring back many of the people of Israel to the Lord their God. 17 And he will go on before the Lord, in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the parents to their children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous—to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.”
This turning of hearts of the parents to their children is a quote from Malachi 4:6. Malachi is the last book of the Old Testament. There, John the Baptist’s birth was prophesied. “He will turn the hearts of the parents to their children, and the hearts of the children to their parents.” Malachi 4:6 It’s cool that the last words of the Old Testament are picked up by the New Testament writers as John the Baptist came on the scene.
A realignment of hearts was part of John the Baptist’s mission. Reconciliation and the restoration of relationships in families was needed. That’s still needed today, isn’t it? Notice what is said at the end of Luke’s words as he extended Malachi’s message. The hearts of the parents would be turned to their children and “the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous—to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.”
A heart change was coming to those who were disenfranchised from their families, AND a heart change was coming for those who were disobedient to God. In other words, John the Baptist’s assignment was to help ready people’s hearts for the coming of the Messiah so that they would be reconciled to God and to others. To experience the Christ of Christmas is to have your heart turned to focus on what matters most. What matters most is that you love those God has given to you as family and that you love God so much that you receive Him and His will for your life by obeying Him.
Not only was John’s message a message for people’s hearts, but we see in the characters of the Christmas story that their hearts were given to Christ in specific ways.
Take Joseph. When he found out that his fiancé was pregnant, he was sure she had cheated on him, but because his heart was tender toward Mary, because he was “one of the good guys,” he didn’t want to subject her to the disgrace the Law called for. In fact, the law called for her death, but to spare her life and to spare her unnecessary shame, he was going to slip out of the relationship quietly. That was his plan.
But when an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and told him not to be afraid to take Mary home as his wife because the baby inside of her was in fact conceived by the Holy Spirit, and then the angel went on to instruct him to name the baby Jesus because He would be the Messiah who would “save God’s people from their sins…” when all of that was told to Joseph, he discarded his plans. He allowed his heart for Mary and his heart for God to receive the angel’s message. Matthew 1:18 says, 24 When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife. 25 But he did not consummate their marriage until she gave birth to a son. And he gave him the name Jesus.
What I see when I look at the decisions Joseph made is an obedient heart. He did what the angel of the Lord commanded. He took Mary home as his wife. Notice, too, it’s in the text, and I don’t think we should gloss over it, but he didn’t consummate his relationship with her until after Jesus was born. That means he waited many months to have a physical relationship with Mary so there could never be any truth to an allegation that Jesus hadn’t been divinely conceived. That took some self-control, right? Because of his commitment to God and desire to safeguard the validity of the virgin birth, Joseph didn’t have a sexual relationship with Mary until Jesus had been born.
In Joseph we see a heart turned to love and protect and care for his family. We see a heart filled with obedience to God. When King Herod sought to kill the baby Jesus and again an angel appeared to Joseph, telling him to take his family to Egypt to keep the baby Jesus safe, Joseph obeyed and fled with Mary and Jesus. They literally became fugitives out of obedience to God. When Herod died and an angel again appeared to Joseph and told him to return to Israel, he did. You can see in Joseph’s heart a pattern of obedience.
You know the Bible doesn’t record one word that Joseph ever spoke, but in many ways, his actions spoke louder than words. He faithfully obeyed God, and he honored his wife even when the law declared he could have put her to death. Surely Joseph was someone whose heart belonged to the Lord. Christmas had come. He couldn’t stop it, but he could have resisted it. Instead, Joseph chose obedience to God’s plan. He had in mind to leave Mary. His feelings told him to leave Mary. But instead of following his thoughts and feelings, Joseph chose to lead his heart based on the truth God had revealed to him. Sometimes obedience requires that we lead our hearts to trust God over our thoughts and feelings. Do you have that kind of heart today?
And what about Mary? She had her own angelic visitor. She learned that her body would be commandeered by the power of God to bring Jesus into the world through a Divine conception and virgin birth. She was told just Who it was that she would be bringing into the world. He was the prophesied One, the Messiah, the second Person in the Trinity, Jesus, the Savior of the world.
That’s a lot to take in, isn’t it? Mary was a young girl in her teens. Thoughts of being the mother to the Messiah wouldn’t ever have occupied her mind. She knew she was going to marry Joseph, but this was a plot twist she never saw coming.
Do you know she never asked, “What if Joseph leaves me because he thinks I have cheated on him?” She never asked, “What if I am put to death by stoning as the Law of Moses calls for?” She never asked what would happen to her if she agreed to the plan. She only asked how it would happen since she was a virgin. Once the angel explained the role of the Holy Spirit in the conception, the words that tumbled out of her mouth came directly from her heart. Luke 1:38-“I am the Lord’s servant,” Mary answered. “May your word to me be fulfilled.”
Mary’s concern was for the will and plan of God to be executed on the earth. Because she had a surrendered heart, she could surrender her body. Listen, when you have a surrendered heart, when God asks you to give your money for a certain cause, it’s a joy to give. When you have a surrendered heart, and God asks you to go out of your way to bless someone, even if it costs you personally like it was going to cost Mary, it’s not difficult to say, “Yes.”
Christmas had come. Mary couldn’t stop it. She could have resisted it, but because Mary had cultivated a heart that was surrendered to God, she could surrender every other part of herself.
I also love what we see in the heart of the shepherds. They were sure taken by surprise when they were just watching the sheep and a boatload of angels showed up in the sky to announce the birth of Christ. What do you do with the information that the Savior has been born? How do you process the extra intel that the birth happened in Bethlehem and that the sign to mark the child would be that He would be wrapped in swaddling clothes and would be lying in a manger. That’s pretty specific information, right?
What would you do with that information? We can tell something about the heart of the shepherds by how they responded. Luke 2:15 says, 15 When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.” Luke 2:15
They weren’t just satisfied with the information, although the way they received it, via the angels in the sky was pretty compelling. They didn’t simply want to know what had happened. They wanted to see it for themselves. People with a heart for God don’t get it from information alone. A heart for God isn’t cultivated by watching someone else encounter Him. A heart for God comes through a personal desire to have a personal experience.
Y’all can watch other people experience Christ’s salvation, peace, hope and joy, but you’ll never have it for yourself until you personally encounter the Christ-child. What happened next?
16 So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. 17 When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, 18 and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. Luke 2:16-18
The shepherds left their encounter with Jesus with a heart to tell others about Him. They received a heart to witness. They weren’t worried about their low social status. Back in a time when shepherds couldn’t be witnesses to anything in a court of law, they didn’t even worry if anyone would believe them. They spread the word about Jesus.
Christmas had come. The shepherds couldn’t stop it, but they couldn’t have resisted it. Instead, moved in their hearts, they went to see Jesus for themselves and made sure everyone knew they had the same opportunity. A Christmas heart is a heart to witness about the birth of the Christ-child.
Last, but not least, are the wisemen or the Magi as some translations call them. Matthew 2:1-2- After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem 2 and asked, “Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.”
Do you ever wonder what Joseph and Mary thought about these men who showed up to visit the young Jesus? We don’t even know for sure what country they were from, but scholars think they came from Babylon. They were astronomers or at least were looking to the sky for answers. From observing the bright star in the sky, they determined a king had been born. They made about a 500-mile trip. It wasn’t an easy trip to make. It was long and arduous, probably dangerous at times. I doubt anyone makes that kind of trip just out of curiosity. I believe the Holy Spirit was drawing them. I believe they had a heart that was open to more than knowledge. I believe they were open to an experience with God. I believe they had a heart of expectation. They believed they were going to see someone who was worthy of their worship. The gifts they took indicated that was their purpose.
The text says that they followed a star, but I would submit to you that the Holy Spirit was leading the hearts of the Magi. I’m curious about a lot of things, but I’m not curious enough to walk or to ride a camel for 500 miles! Seriously. I rode a horse on my honeymoon for two hours and couldn’t walk for the next two days. No way would I be riding a camel for hundreds of miles, but the Magi did. They had a heart to believe what the Scriptures say, “The heavens declare the glory of God.” Psalm 19:1.
God had given them insight into the meaning of the star. They weren’t following a star. They were following God. Matthew’s Gospel goes on to say verses 7-10, 7 Then Herod called the Magi secretly and found out from them the exact time the star had appeared. 8 He sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and search carefully for the child. As soon as you find him, report to me, so that I too may go and worship him.” (only we know Herod wasn’t interested in worshipping Jesus. He wanted him dead.)
9 After they had heard the king, they went on their way, and the star they had seen when it rose went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was. 10 When they saw the star, they were overjoyed/they rejoiced!
Matthew called it rejoicing. I wonder if it was chest-bumping, high-fiving, dancing like they were in the end zone or if they fell on their faces and cried happy tears. It was a demonstration for sure, enough of one to cause Matthew to use the word “rejoice.”
The Magi had a searching heart. They were looking for something to anchor their lives to, something beyond this world…Someone beyond this world. They were willing to examine the signs, signs that Heaven had come to earth. Other people saw the same signs but weren’t searching to understand what was going on like the wise men were.
Not only did they have a searching heart, but they came prepared to honor and worship Jesus. Matthew 2:11- 11 On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh.
A Christmas heart is a heart to seek out a relationship with God. A Christmas heart is a heart to worship Him when you find it. Do you have a heart for Christmas?
Christmas had come. The Magi couldn’t stop it, but they could have resisted it. Instead, they allowed their hearts to be led by the Holy Spirit to follow that star and to worship Jesus when they found Him.
The only Christmas character who didn’t meet Jesus on a positive heart level is King Herod. His heart was hard. He refused to acknowledge Jesus’ Messianic, Divine status. He rejected Him to the point of even trying to kill Him. Herod tried to kill Christ. Herod tried to abolish Christmas. Yet, Christmas had come. Herod couldn’t stop it.
No one can change or undo what God has done in sending a Savior. No one can stop Christmas. Christmas has come. We can have a heart that is obedient and seek to adjust our lives to the truth God has revealed. We can have a heart of surrender and allow the Holy Spirit to have full say and sway over our entire being. We can have a heart to witness and let others know what we have experienced. We can have a heart to seek the truth and a heart to worship when we find it, or we can reject the Christ of Christmas.
But even then, you can’t change the fact that Jesus came for you. Really. Jesus came for everyone. He came for those who would receive Him, for those who would obey Him, for those who would surrender to Him, for those who would witness about Him, for those who would seek Him and worship Him, and He came for those who would reject Him. Your heart is either open to Christ or it is closed. My question for you is simply this: Do you have a heart for Christmas this year?
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